


In for a penny, in for a pound(ing heart)

by Waterfall_cactus



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: I don't know what I'm doing, M/M, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker is a Mess, Precious Peter Parker, help me i keep deleting my tags, this is my first fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 6,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waterfall_cactus/pseuds/Waterfall_cactus
Summary: So Peter gets a job because he wants to buy May a new phone for her birthday. And Harley happens to work at the same frozen yogurt place. And then um they have a blast, really.
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Kudos: 69





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Um sorry for this one. I've never written fanfiction before. Also btw I know nothing so just ignore any inaccuracies

Before future me can tell you otherwise, allow me to say that it was a good plan. A foolproof plan, really. I just forgot to compensate for the fact that I happen to be a next-level fool.

You see, May's birthday was coming up in a few months and I wanted to get her something special. Last year I made her a robot that washed dishes, but I was a little pressed for time and didn't get the chance to test it thoroughly -we had a set of broken dishes as a testimony. This year's gift will be a sort of apology I guess.

The opportunity to prove myself presented itself when May dropped her phone in the toilet. Honestly, I don't even think _I'm_ clumsy enough to do that. Her phone has been all glitchy ever since, but May-being who she is- decided that she didn't need a new phone. I liked to pretend that it had nothing to do with our budget. But I couldn't deny that we didn't have a whole lot of money so I needed to come up with a plan. And that plan happened to take the form of a job at the local Menchies. 

Ned was excited when I told him about my plan -I could always count on him to be excited for me. But if I'm honest, I think he was mostly interested in the prospect of frozen yogurt. He's really great, though. He helped me submit my job application, and was just as happy as I was when I was hired. He even offered to come with me on my first day, but I told him I'd be fine.

It turns out that I had lied to him. Because I was not fine. I walked into the shop with a fresh face and an open mind. But then I realized something: Menchies needed to update their website. Because ridiculously hot blondes weren't in the job description.


	2. Chapter Two

"You must be Peter?" The guy asked. I've never seen someone look so good in pink and green. I've never seen someone look so good period. He had dirty blond hair that looked all windswept. And he had these baby blue eyes. And his _smile_. 

Oh god. Oh no. This is not good for my tiny bisexual brain. This is not good at all.

He raised an eyebrow and I'm struck with the realization that I must have been staring at him. And if there's anything worse than having a crush on a guy you've known for all of ten seconds, it's making that crush obvious. Can I just quit now?

"Yeah," I said finally, cringing at how high-pitched my voice sounded. I cleared my throat and tried again. "That's me."

He smiled even wider and I wanted to run in the opposite direction. Because it must be illegal to be so attractive. I'm not even joking. That could be dangerous. He reached out his hand. "Harley Keener"

I licked my lips and met his outstretched hand with my own. "That's uh a nice name."

Harley shrugged. "Eh, it's kind of long. You can just call me Darling."

I could feel my eyes widening. My heart pounding. I didn't point out the fact that Harley and Darling had the same amount of syllables. I didn't think I physically could, my tongue was so knotted up.

Then Harley laughed. And I wanted to cry. Because when a person is that attractive, the least you can do is give him an ugly laugh. But apparently God decided to play favorites. Because I swear to god, Harley was a literal angel. "Just messing with you, Harley's fine."

"Oh," I said-praying that I wasn't sweating. I wish I didn't sweat when I get nervous. It's gross. _I bet it wouldn't look gross on Harley_ , my mind supplied without permission. "I'm Peter."

Harley smirked. "Or so I've heard."

I sent a quick apology to the Fates -for I must have made them angry to get into these sorts of situations. 


	3. Chapter Three

Harley gave me my uniform along with a rundown of my duties. I wasn't paying all that much attention though, because hello? How am I supposed to focus when there's a literal god in front of me? He even had a southern accent. Kill me now, please and thank you.

A customer walked in and Harley winked at me. He said, "Watch and learn". Spoiler alert: I didn't watch and learn. It was more like a "watch and burn". Because boy was I burning with jealousy. Harley was flirting with that stupid brunette like there was no tomorrow. 

She looked over at me. "Who's that?" she asked Harley.

He grinned at her. "That's Peter. It's his first day." He waved me over to say hi. I could say hi perfectly fine from a distance.

The girl looked me up and down before turning back to Harley. Um...rude. But also completely understandable because Harley was freaking hot and I would have definitely done the same thing had I been in her position.

She stayed far longer than necessary: making completely unnecessary conversation, asking Harley what his favorite flavor is, being all-around annoying. And when she left, the bi- eh hem, the girl had the audacity to blow Harley a kiss.

I paled. She better not be his girlfriend. Oh who am I kidding. Even if Harley was single, even if he batted for the other team, he wouldn't like me. Stupid Peter Parker. Stupid Fates. I blame them completely. They love to spite me.

I bit my tongue before I could make a sarcastic comment. Harley rolled his eyes and made his way over to me. "Good riddance. I thought she would never leave."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Actually, I could have -I would have used slightly more colorful language. I gave Harley a pointed look. "You seemed to be enjoying yourself."

He smirked. "Customer service, baby. Did you see the tip she left?"

Uh oh. I think Harley just got even more attractive. He nudged my shoulder and it sent a shiver through my body. "Think you've got the next one?"

I shrugged. "As long as I don't have to flirt with them."

Harley let out a laugh. "Come on, that's the best part!"


	4. Chapter Four

Ned didn't understand my problem. All he said was, "dude that's great!" I think MJ understood -but then she called me a loser. I can't win. 

I put my head down on the table and closed my eyes. Thoughts of Harley immediately overtook my mind. At least I've figured out why Harley's so fit; he's just constantly running through my mind. Like, all day every day. He must have amazing stamina.

For the first time ever, I was actually disappointed that it was Friday. I get to see Mr. Stark, which is great, trust me. But I don't get to see Harley. I worked Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Speaking of which, I forgot to tell Mr. Stark that I can't make it to lab time on Wednesdays any more.

I wonder if it's unhealthy to like someone so much -especially if you don't know them yet. Because I was hit with the realization that not seeing Harley anymore would wreck me completely. My fourth grade teacher always used to say, "if you give someone the power to make you happy, you also give them the power to make you very sad". My fourth grade teacher wasn't a very cheerful man. 

The day flew by, but their was no Harley to catch it. Only Happy's car -which I definitely didn't accidentally walk past whilst thinking about Harley. I climbed into the back seat and buckled up. Pulling the strap across my chest, I wondered about creating a system that buckles your seat belt for you. I could use one of those.

I went through the motion of telling Happy about my day, all the while clamping down my desire to tell him about my newly developed crush. Harley's the type of person who the world deserves to hear about -not that Happy is doing much listening.

What seemed like a few minutes later, my story was being interrupted by Happy opening my door. Also, by the way, when did he even leave the car? Like, could he not even pretend to care about what I'm saying? Actually, I take that back -pretending to care about what someone else is saying is very draining.

I said hello to FRIDAY, to which she replied, "Happy Friday, Peter!" I thought that was funny considering her name...Happy wasn't laughing though. No one's ever laughing when I'm laughing. 


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh and btw, Peter isn't Spider-Man because that's too much work.

Mr. Stark raised an eyebrow at me. I swear, people are always looking at me like I'm crazy. And I didn't even say something weird this time! All I said was that I couldn't come over on Wednesday's anymore. Then I told him that I was busy on Thursdays, too.

"You have better things to do with your time, kid?"

I tried not to blush at the unintentional innuendo, but in my experience, trying not to blush only makes you blush harder. "I have to go to my job, Mr. Stark."

He frowned. "Job? What job?"

I couldn't help the smile that drifted across my face when I thought about Harley. "I work at Menchies."

Mr. Stark nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "The one by your school?"

My eyes widened. "No, no, no, no. You can't come. You're not invited."

He smirked. "Last time I checked, you don't an invitation to go to Menchies. Why do you have a job anyway?"

I contemplated not telling him the truth, because then he would try to give me money or something. But then I remembered that I am a horrible liar. "I wanted to buy May a new phone for her birthday."

Mr. Stark pressed his lips together. "You do realize that I am the owner of a multi-billion dollar company?"

"Yeah."

He looked at me like he was expecting me to continue. I didn't.

"Did you know that I have an endless supply of Stark Phones -models that haven't even been released yet?"

I nodded again.

His brow furrowed slightly in confusion. "Why didn't you ask me?"

Now I stared at him like _he_ said something weird. _Oh how the tables have turned._ "Mr. Staaark, I can't just ask you for something like that."

He blinked. "I don't see why not. I'm a billionaire. One phone won't make a dent in my bank account. Hell, a thousand won't even make a scratch."

"But then you're going to think I'm leeching off of you."

He let out a low chuckle that intensified into a belly laugh. "You couldn't leech off of someone if you tried."

I looked at Mr. Stark with mock sadness. "I thought you said I could do anything I put my mind to."

He ruffled my hair (and I think it somehow turned out neater than it was before?). "You little brat. So you're quitting your job, yes?"

My eyes widened again. "No!"

I cleared my throat and tried again, but with a little less desperation: "No."

He looked me up and down. "Uh huh. Pray tell, what is so wonderful about this job that you would rather be there instead of my lab?"

"Mmmm," _don't say Harley, don't say Harley_ , "responsibility!"

I nodded. "Yeah, responsibility. Having a job will teach me responsibility."

Mr. Stark nodded, a smirk adorning his face. "Yeah, because _you_ need to be taught responsibility. You know what? Fine, don't tell me. Just remember that you're trying to hide something from _Tony Stark_."

I've spent a lot of time with him and I've observed a lot of his mannerisms, but I still can't tell when that man is joking.


	6. Chapter Six

"Miss me, sweetheart?"

My poor heart. It shouldn't have to deal with Harley's attractiveness. Oh, why wasn't I gifted with social skills?

"Uhhh," I drag out. My brain was firing at ungodly speeds. Because, hear me out, I couldn't say something lame like "yeah". And I couldn't say something flirty back, because that's not in my skillset. And I couldn't say something rude like "no". And I couldn't say something-

Harley's angelic voice interrupted my thoughts. "You know, you're cute when you're flustered."

Well now he's making me _more_ flustered. The worst part is that he knows what he's doing. It's not fair. Maybe if I was more attractive...I shook my head; no use in thinking like that. No use in thinking about how Harley will never like me.

I jumped when I felt his hands land on my shoulders. "You okay, Pete?"

I shook myself. "Yeah, yeah, of course," I said unconvincingly. 

Harley quirked an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Want some froyo?"

"I don't have any money on me."

Now _Harley_ was looking at me like I said something weird. Or stupid. Probably the second one. He smirked and in the back of my mind I thought that I've seen that exact same facial expression on Mr. Stark. "We work here," he said.

My eyebrows shot up. "We get free frozen yogurt?"

He winked at me. "It's free if no one catches us."


	7. Chapter Seven

Mr. Olsen says I need to pay more attention in class. Which is stupid, by the way, because I already know everything he's teaching us. He says he's going to call May if he catches me zoning off again. Except it was really awkward because he said he would call my parents and everyone just went silent.

I decided to save the orphan card for later and turned my attention back to my notebook. I picked up my pencil and wrote Harley's name in cursive. I added a few hearts around it. Harley looks so pretty in cursive. Almost as pretty as Harley in real life. Nothing is as pretty as Harley in real life.

 _Peter Keener_ , I wrote out. Keener looks pretty in cursive, too. Peter Keener didn't really have a ring to it though. _Harley Parker._ That didn't sound too great, either -better than Peter Keener, though. _Peter Parker-Keener_ , I wrote out. That's better.

A shadow fell across my desk and I dared look up at the imposing figure. "What did I just say, Peter?"

Uh oh. "What did I just say, Peter?" I repeated.

"Very funny," Mr. Olsen said, but he did not look amused in the slightest. "And what did I say before that?"

"Before," I supplied.

Mr. Olsen pursed his lips. "Shall we take a look at your notes? See if you were paying attention?"

Oh _no_. Think fast, Peter. Think fast! I closed my notebook. "That's not necessary. I think we can both agree that I was not paying attention."

He grinned evilly. "I would hate to incriminate a student without proper evidence."

Before I could come up with a witty response, his hand slithered out and snatched up my notebook. It took all of my self control not to grab it out of his slimy fingers. "You are violating my privacy, Mr. Olsen."

He raised an eyebrow. "And you are violating my class."

I'm not sure that is how you are supposed to use the word violate. Maybe it is -I'm not much of an English person. And grammar is my worst nightmare. He flipped through the pages -pages of random ideas, scribbles, and doodles. Pages devoid of notes. Pages that have recently been covered in a certain someone's name.

Mr. Olsen laughed. The noise grated on my ears. The whole class was staring at me. "Harley Keener, huh? Your girlfriend? A crush perhaps?"

"A person whose identity is none of your business?" I snarked.

Mr. Olsen's smile fell. "What's your mom's phone number?"

My eyes darkened. "I can give you my aunt's number."

"I didn't ask for your aunt's number."

"Well now you've got it." I rattled off her number.

"What's your mom's phone number? Do you not know it?"

Mr. Olsen must be stupid. Did he think I gave him my aunt's number for the heck of it? A girl I recognized to be Allison tried to intervene. "Mr. Olsen, he-"

She didn't get very far, as Mr. Olsen shushed her. "This is between me and Peter."

Yeah, right. If he wanted it to be between the two of us, he wouldn't have had this conversation in front of the whole class. He asked me again for my mom's phone number. 

I crossed my arms. "I cannot fathom what you plan on doing with a dead person's number."

That rendered him speechless for a few moments. He cleared his throat, refusing to apologize. "What did you say your aunt's number was?" 

I relished in the smallness of his voice. _I did that_ , I thought proudly. 

He dialed the number and waited until it went to voicemail. May didn't pick up. I didn't expect her to, she's at work. And she wouldn't have picked up a random number anyway. Mr. Olsen seemed to be on the same wavelength as me -which _ew_ , I immediately got onto a different wavelength. "Call her from your phone."

It went to voicemail. Mr. Olsen scratched his balding head. For someone who's always getting mad at us for wasting class time, he sure does it well. "You got an uncle?"

I blinked before any tears could spill out. "No." My voice was sharp.

He sighed. "Well you have to call someone."

I restrained myself from rolling my eyes. "Fine."

I don't know what possessed me to call Mr. Stark. I don't know what possessed him to pick up. Actually, that's not true. He's a worry wart. Of course he picked up. He was probably in a business meeting, too. I snorted. Yeah, right. Mr. Stark at a business meeting.


	8. Chapter Eight

I didn't actually think Mr. Stark would pick up. And was it really necessary to put the call on speaker phone?!

"Kid?" His voice rang out loud and clear, echoing throughout the silent classroom. Everyone's heads swiveled toward the sound of Mr. Stark's voice.

"Is that...?" Mr. Olsen's question didn't quite make it past his lips. 

"Hi Mr. Stark," I answered, embarrassed.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school? What's up?"

I cleared my throat. "I _am_ in school. I'm just uh...in trouble."

Mr. Stark snorted out a laugh. "What did you do? Talk somebody's ear off? Tell them I'll cover the medical bills."

It seems as if Mr. Olsen found his voice...sort of. "How do you know...why did you...where...?"

Mr. Stark interrupted him. "Pete, who is this man?"

"Mr. Olsen," I supplied.

Mr. Stark hummed. "Oh isn't that your math teacher? The one you said was really annoying?"

The kids in my class started laughing and I wished I could just turn invisible, run away, and never come back. "Mr. Stark!"

"Fine, what did you do?"

Mr. Olsen stepped in before I could respond. "Peter here decided that he'd rather write Harley Keener all over his notebook than pay attention to my class."

Um tattle tale much. Mr. Stark went silent for such a long time I had to check and make sure he didn't hang up. I looked around the room, watching everyone else look around the room and cursed the fact that neither MJ nor Ned are in this class with me. 

"Harley Keener?" Mr. Stark repeated. Oh please tell me he doesn't _know_ Harley. That would make everything like ten times as embarrassing. _What are the chances,_ I reasoned with myself. Millions of people in this city and he knows _Harley_? No, it couldn't be. Feeling better about everything, I responded with a semi-shaky: "yeah".

Mr. Stark chuckled and I paled -because a chuckling Mr. Stark is never a good thing. "About six feet tall," he started. My brain went into mini panic mode, but I could still hear him clearly. I am unsure of whether that is a good thing. "Blonde hair, blue eyes, smart mouth? That Harley Keener?"

My jaw dropped. One, how does he know Harley? Two, did he really have to just out me to my entire class?

My lack of a response didn't deter Mr. Stark -nothing ever could when he was determined. "I didn't know that you knew each other. How'd you guys meet anyway? Wait doesn't he work at...Menchies?"

He started laughing manically and I prayed for my life. Manic laughter is like a 9/10 on the danger scale. Right next to silence. I shuddered. "Is that why you'd rather be at work than the tower? This is great, kid. Well I'll let you two lovebirds at it. Consider your Wednesdays Stark-free."

He paused for a moment. "And if that bumbling fool you call your teacher is still there, tell him that he's an idiot and if there's a problem I am more than willing to come over there and sort things out."

He hung up after that. I looked up at Mr. Olsen and shrugged. "His words not mine." 


	9. Chapter Nine

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Harley. But like I need a little warning you know? When I go to the tower to mess around with Mr. Stark in the lab and I see _Harley_ in there with him? That's not my fault. I refuse to take responsibility for my actions during this ambush.

Harley raised a hand to me. "Hey Peter."

I blinked at him for a few seconds, stopping once I determined that I was not in fact hallucinating. "Hi Harley," I breathed. And for the record, my voice did not crack. It was just experimenting with different pitches.

My gaze wandered to Mr. Stark for a second and I thought about the conversation he had with my teacher over the phone. The blood running through my veins went cold with dread. He was going to have a field day messing around with me. Life is so unfair.

My eyes naturally found Harley's face again, but Mr. Stark cleared his throat before I could say anything stupid. "Great, you two already know each other. Let's go."

I tried sending Harley a questioning look, but he was already following after Mr. Stark. It took my overwhelmed brain a few moments before realizing that we were heading toward Mr. Stark's lab. I glanced at Harley wondering -not for the first time- just how he knew Mr. Stark. I listened to their playful banter and tried to fight off a pang of jealousy. I thought I was the only teenager Mr. Stark paid special attention to. I wondered if there were more of us. Why stop at me and Harley?

I was brought back to reality when I ran into a table. Very graceful, Peter. Harley snorted and Mr. Stark raised an eyebrow. "You good, kid?"

I nodded. "Peachy"

After that slight mishap, we all got to work. Well, Harley and Mr. Stark got to work while I tried not to drool. That sounded gross, I meant: while I watched in awe. It didn't take me long to realize that Mr. Stark didn't just keep Harley around for his pretty face and witty remarks, no. Harley was a freaking genius. I don't have the words to describe how Harley's fingers danced and flittered around the tools, how he elegantly creating something out of nothing. Well, technically he didn't make it out of nothing, since he was using wood and metals and the like.

Harley's head moved a little and I whipped my own in the opposite direction, pretending to look out the window. "Is your job to stand there and look pretty?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "I uh...I was just lost in thought."

Harley gestured to the lab around us as if telling me to go do something. I adjusted the straps of my backpack. "Oh I have some homework I need to do." I waved toward an empty table.

Mr. Stark looked over his shoulder. "Yeah, he's a real nerd that one."

My mouth dropped open but neither Harley nor Mr. Stark were looking in my direction. They were geeking out in a lab and _I'm_ the nerdy one for just trying to get my homework done?


	10. Chapter Ten

I pulled myself together and finished my homework, trying to ignore the fact that Harley was only a few feet away from me. I shut my laptop with a satisfied sigh -loudly apparently going off the questioning look Harley gave me. I shrugged and gave him a tired smile. "That was a monster of an essay."

He laughed even though I didn't say anything funny and beckoned me over. I approached him hesitantly and he pointed to his design for a hoverboard that actually hovers (unlike those scooters that came out a few years ago. Can you say disappointment?)

"Any suggestions?" he asked. I shifted closer to him and leaned to look over his shoulder -ignoring the fact that he smelled really good. _Like green apples_ , my mind supplied. My eyes scanned his notes and sketches and I soon got lost in the equations. A welcome alternative to getting lost in his eyes.

We talked and planned and built until someone cleared their throat behind us. I jumped and looked behind me to be met with Mr. Stark crossing his arms. "Now I'm not one to stop working to do far less important things like eat and rest, but you teenagers are strange little things and I assume you're hungry?"

I exchanged a look with Harley before looking down at my stomach, which I hadn't even realized had started making low grumbling noises. Harley seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Yeah, pizza sounds good right now."

The three of us made our way down to the kitchen where Mr. Stark ordered the pizza -which was sadly devoid of pineapple. Harley and I sat on the couch and picked out a movie to watch. Apparently Mr. Stark also had movie nights with Harley. I'm only slightly jealous. It's not like I thought I was special or anything. Note the sarcasm. Anyway, it kind of got me wondering about how I've never seen Harley around. Like how have we never ran into each other?

We settled on the Matrix after discovering that Harley preferred -try not to throw up - Star Trek over Star Wars. I suppose God had to throw something in there to make Harley imperfect. His one flaw. His hamartia. I will find a way to cope, though.

Mr. Stark joined us on the couch a few minutes later with the pizza -which, how did he even get it that fast? I scooted closer to Harley to make room for him. Okay, so there was enough room for him without me scooting over, but I saw a chance and I took it. I was now as close as I could get to Harley without touching him. I hope I'm not making him uncomfortable. 

Fifteen minutes into the movie I already had about a billion questions for Mr. Stark. I've seen this movie at least four times and I still don't understand it. Halfway through the movie I think I exhausted Mr. Stark's supply of patience. I asked him about the Oracle and how that even worked. Like, I couldn't have been the only one that was confused. He just rolled his eyes and said: "Are you even watching the movie?"

I shifted a little on the couch to get even closer to Harley and froze when I accidentally touched him. I swear, my heart was beating so violently even Mr. Stark could hear it. But instead of moving away, Harley put his arm around my shoulder. I think my life is complete now. 

My eyes started feeling heavy before we even put on the second movie, but I fought to stay awake. I was determined to be aware of every second Harley had his arm around me. That's not an every day occurrence, you know.

Alas, I did not seem to fight hard enough. Before we got even half an hour into the movie, I was well on my way to unconsciousness. 


	11. Chapter Eleven

There's something disconcerting about waking up to someone looking at you. Even if it's Harley -especially if it's Harley. I just wasn't ready for Harley this early in the morning. Or...is it even morning? I don't know.

"Mornin' Sleepin' Beauty. I thought you'd never wake up. I was about to try and kiss you awake."

I rubbed my eyes tiredly and yawned. "Maybe I should close my eyes, then."

Harley breathed out a laugh as I tried to process what I just said. I think I just...flirted? Uh oh. Man, I wish life had an undo button. Before I could activate shutdown mode, Harley pulled me to my feet and led me over to Mr. Stark.

"Ah," he greeted, "it's the kid who chose the movie then proceeded to fall asleep."

I pouted and crossed my arms. "I was _tired_ , Mr. Stark. You can't fight fatigue."

He snorted. "You just proved that you can't, but I most certainly can."

"Mr. Staaark, that's not something to brag about. You need to sleep."

He held up his mug of coffee in response. I looked to Harley for support, but he just shrugged and held up his own mug of coffee. Great. Two sleep deprived maniacs.

I finally got the chance to check the time. The numbers 1:22 am blinked at me from the screen of the microwave. Just looking at how late it was made me yawn. Because it was so late (early?), Mr. Stark invited both Harley and I to stay the night at the tower (a sleepover?!).

I started planning out all the fun things Harley and I could do together, but Mr. Stark gave me a look that stopped my racing thoughts. "Nuh uh, you two need to go to sleep. None of that light saber building, or whatever it is two nerds such as yourselves do in their free time."

Wait...that's actually a good idea. Like a really good idea! I can't believe I've never tried making a light saber before! Oh man, Harley and I were going to have so much fun. It was really great working in the lab with him today. Maybe he'd like to do it again sometime? I was so caught up with the mechanics of a light saber that I only heard half of Harley's response. It was something about Mr. Stark being an old man and I could have sworn he said something about a sleep deprivation monster. 


	12. Chapter Twelve

I made my way down to the kitchen after waking up (for the second time that day). I scanned the surrounding areas and checked my shoulder as I pulled out a mixing bowl and a frying pan. I didn't see Mr. Stark anywhere so that was a relief. He'd never let me do this. I'm not allowed to cook after I started a tiny little -kind of enormous- fire last time. But I was reeeaally in the mood for pancakes this morning. He'd forgive me after seeing how good they turned out.

I rummaged through the large pantry until I found the flour. I was reaching for the sugar when I heard a familiar voice. "Absolutely not."

I turned around suddenly, trying to squash down my fear at being caught. "Please, Mr. Stark?"

"No," he said firmly.

"It was only one time."

He snorted. "One time and two heart attacks."

I held out a glass bottle. "See? I'll put the oil in the pan _before_ turning on the heat this time."

Mr. Stark squinted. "Kid, that's vinegar."

I glanced down at the bottle and set it on the counter in embarrassment. "Oh. My bad. I couldn't read the label because it was so dark. And the bottles look very similar so it's not really my fault in my opinion."

He looked me up and down. "Yeah no. Get out of my kitchen."

I gave my best impression of puppy dog eyes. "But Mr. Staaark, I really wanted pancakes."

He gave me his signature unimpressed look. We stared at each other for a few more moments. I stuck out my lower lip for good measure. Mr. Stark heaved out a long, suffering sigh. "Do you forget who you're talking to?"

I squinted at him. "You can cook?" I asked in disbelief.

He snorted. "I can do whatever I want."

He swaggered over to the pantry and put away the vinegar. Instead of grabbing the olive oil though, he took out a stick of butter. "I'll show you how a real chef makes pancakes."

After getting over my shock, I trotted over to him. "Can I help?"

He gave me a side glance. "That's a hard no." 

I pouted at him and sat down at one of the bar stools to watch. It was so strange to see Mr. Stark working in the kitchen -his movements were so deliberate. It was almost funny. I pictured him in an apron and snorted. Forget the "almost", it was extremely funny.

Of course, Harley chose to make an entrance as soon as the pancakes were done. His hair was all messed up, but it looked really cute. It looked fluffy. He sat down on the stool next to me and glared at Mr. Stark. "The smell of your pancakes interrupted my beauty sleep."

Mr. Stark pointed his spatula at me. "Don't blame me, that squirt over there forced me to make them."

Harley smiled at me. "I can't blame Peter, he's too cute." Then, as if he hadn't said anything at all, he turned back to Mr. Stark. "So as I was saying, please refrain from doing this in the future."

My brain exploded a little bit. But it does that every time Harley flirts with me. But then a part of my brain reminded me that Harley flirts with everything on two feet.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Happy drove us home after breakfast, dropping me off first -which was a little embarrassing because our apartment doesn’t look like much from the outside. I hopped out of the car and thanked Happy for the ride even though he only grunted in return. Then I said bye to Harley, who graced me with an actual response. He looked like he wanted to say more, but then he closed his mouth and so I closed the door. 

Aunt may was watching TV on the couch when I walked through the door. “How was Stark’s?” she asked, looking over her shoulder. And if my ears were telling the truth, she was starting to sound less and less likely to commit homicide every time Mr. Stark was mentioned. He must be growing on her.

“It was great!” I said because it really was and that’s how I always respond. But I must have sounded a little off because she gave me a suspicious look so I elaborated.

“Harley and I made a hoverboard and had pancakes and watched the Matrix. And Mr. Stark wouldn’t let me help with the pancakes, which was stupid by the way because I am a great chef, and the movie was really confusing but I couldn’t even pay attention because Harley put his arm around me and the hoverboard didn’t really work because it couldn’t hold our weight and-“ I stopped to take a breath and Aunt May stepped in. 

“Who’s Harley?” she asked.

And I told myself to play it cool so I shrugged and said, “Some kid that also knows Mr. Stark. I don’t really know that much about him.”

And May narrowed her eyes and I didn’t know what that look meant, but she didn’t say anything. And then she did and she said, “Is he cute?”

And I think I blushed. “Aunt Mayyyy!” I exclaimed indignantly.

She held her hands up and backed off. “It was just a question, Peter.” But the twitch of the left side of her lip told me that she already knew the answer. And life wasn’t fair because this was all Harley’s fault for being so adorable.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

The next few weeks passed by and nothing really changed. Mr. Stark was still uncultured and Aunt May was still selfless and Harley was still a literal god. I still had lab days and I still worked at Menchies and I still hung out with Ned on the weekends. But I wanted to kiss Harley every time I saw him, and spending time in the lab with him made me feel stupid, and having a job is actually a lot of work. Ned’s like a constant though. Like if I came up with a formula to predict friendships, I would call the constant “Ned’s constant”.

I was thinking this as I walked up to the front door of Menchies. I slowed down before I got there to take a deep breath and pray for self control per usual.

Harley was restocking one of the frozen yogurt tubs and I walked over to see if he needed help. “Hey Peter,” he said as a greeting. But I knew something was up because he said “Peter” and not “Pete” or “Petey” or “gorgeous” or “darling”.

He said “no” when I asked if he needed help so I watched him finish up and close the machine. Then he sighed and leaned against the wall in a way that definitely did not make my brain go haywire. And then he said, “I can’t tell if you’re oblivious or rejecting me.”

And I gaped at him and said, “What?”. Except “yelled” would have been a better word because I had to cringe at the volume of my voice.

And then Harley stared at me for a very long time in a way that made me feel fiddle with my shirt and feel self conscious. “I don’t understand,” I replied honestly -because he can’t be saying what I think he’s saying.

He sighed again. “I’ve been trying to make a move on you for what, two months now?”

And I said, “A move?”

So Harley ran a hand through his hair in distress. And it was odd seeing Harley in distress because he’s always so confident. “Oh god, you’re straight aren’t you?” he asked me.

And I thought that was odd too because I didn’t know how he came to that conclusion. “I’m not um straight,” I answered. And my voice wavered because that seemed like a very personal thing to say to him because I haven’t known him for that long.

But that didn’t really seem to calm his nerves down because he started flexing and relaxing his fingers a bunch. “So you just don’t like me?” he asked.

And I gaped again because Harley is the hottest man alive and he is the smartest person I know and he is the funniest guy I am friends with and he is the most genuine human being on this planet. And my heart started beating really fast and I was very confused and I didn’t know how to talk. And I thought I was about to start crying because I was suddenly feeling very overwhelmed, but Harley started talking again. And he said, “Never mind, can we just forget about this conversation? Carry on like nothing happened?”

Then I thought I should probably say something, and I’m no fisherman but I threw the metaphorical fishing line out anyway and I said, “Of course I like you. You’re like the most perfect human being to ever exist.”

And Harley stared at me again. And now he also looked confused. And he asked me, “Like a friend or...?”

And I said, “Not like a friend.”

And he said, “Like I could kiss you right now and you’d be fine with it?”

And I said, “You could kiss me right now and I might faint or wake up from whatever dream I’m in, but I’d be fine with it.”

And then he kissed me. And I did neither of those things, but I did make this really embarrassing sound that made me wish I’d fainted instead. But if I’d fainted I wouldn’t be kissing Harley right now, so I take that back.

Then Harley pulled away but I pulled him closer to me and I thought he looked really cute in that moment. Then our lips touched again and I couldn’t think anymore. 

But then the door opened so we jumped apart. The middle aged woman who just walked in gave us a weird look. And then Harley and I looked at each other and started laughing. Like maniacal laughing. Like the woman turned the other way and walked straight out the door laughing. And then we kissed again, but we were still laughing.


End file.
